Biopolymer colloids for controlling and templating inorganic synthesis

• Laura C. Preiss,
• Katharina Landfester and
• Rafael Muñoz-Espí

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2129–2138, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.222

• sol, followed by a gelation process, porous hybrid structures can be obtained. Starting from a colloidal suspension of laponite particles, Shi et al. [4] reported the preparation of a nanocomposite matrix of chitosan and clay that was applied as a glucose biosensor. Very recently, da Costa Neto et al

Towards bottom-up nanopatterning of Prussian blue analogues

• Virgile Trannoy,
• Marco Faustini,
• David Grosso,
• Sandra Mazerat,
• François Brisset,
• Alexandre Dazzi and
• Anne Bleuzen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1933–1943, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.204

• /Prussian blue analogue nanocomposite involves five main steps, which have been described elsewhere for the fabrication of nanometer-scale patterns of photo-switchable PBA [15]. The substrate is first covered with a gold layer through sputtering, which will allow for the chemical differentiation of the

• last step is the PBA growth by a layer-by-layer directed assembly approach inspired from methods already implemented for the synthesis of PBA thin films [16][17][18]. Here, we study the impact of each step on the structure of the nanocomposite. We show that the first gold layer can undergo some changes

• the elaboration process. Experimental Synthesis of the TiO2/PBA nanocomposite The five steps involved in the fabrication of the PBA/TiO2 nanocomposites are the following [15]: In a first step, the silicon substrate is covered by a gold layer by sputtering under vacuum in a sputter coater (Quorum

A study on the consequence of swift heavy ion irradiation of Zn–silica nanocomposite thin films: electronic sputtering

• Compesh Pannu,
• Udai B. Singh,
• Dinesh. C. Agarwal,
• Saif A. Khan,
• Sunil Ojha,
• Ramesh Chandra,
• Hiro Amekura,
• Debdulal Kabiraj and
• Devesh. K. Avasthi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1691–1698, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.179

• , India National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0003, Japan 10.3762/bjnano.5.179 Abstract Zn–silica nanocomposite thin films with varying Zn metal content, deposited by atom beam sputtering technique were subjected to 100 MeV Ag ion irradiation. Rutherford backscattering

• spectrometry reveals the loss of Zn with irradiation, which is observed to be greater from thin films with lower Zn content. The sputtered species collected on carbon-coated transmission electron microscopy (TEM) grids consist of Zn nanoparticles of sizes comparable to those present in the nanocomposite thin

• (SHI) irradiation is an effective tool to engineer the properties of the nanocomposite thin films. SHI produces electronic excitations in a narrow cylindrical volume around its path, leading to a change in size and shape of metal nanoparticles embedded in a matrix [5][6][7][8]. The group at IUAC [5

Non-covalent and reversible functionalization of carbon nanotubes

• Antonello Di Crescenzo,
• Valeria Ettorre and
• Antonella Fontana

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1675–1690, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.178

• CNTs surface and dissolve both individual and bundled SWCNTs in organic solvents. The solid SWCNTs–Zn-protoporphyrin nanocomposite is readily separable from the solution and can be easily redissolved in DMF. Typical dispersants are polymers formed by repetitive units of alkyl chains and aromatic

Microstructural and plasmonic modifications in Ag–TiO₂ and Au–TiO₂ nanocomposites through ion beam irradiation

• Venkata Sai Kiran Chakravadhanula,
• Yogendra Kumar Mishra,
• Venkata Girish Kotnur,
• Devesh Kumar Avasthi,
• Thomas Strunskus,
• Vladimir Zaporotchenko,
• Dietmar Fink,
• Lorenz Kienle and
• Franz Faupel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1419–1431, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.154

• fabrication techniques of plasmonic nanocomposites with specific properties is an ongoing issue in the plasmonic and nanophotonics community. In this paper we report detailed investigations on the modifications of the microstructural and plasmonic properties of metal–titania nanocomposite films induced by

• swift heavy ions. Au–TiO2 and Ag–TiO2 nanocomposite thin films with varying metal volume fractions were deposited by co-sputtering and were subsequently irradiated by 100 MeV Ag8+ ions at various ion fluences. The morphology of these nanocomposite thin films before and after ion beam irradiation has

• ion beam induced growth of nanoparticles and structural modifications in the titania matrix. Keywords: noble metal–titania nanocomposite; surface plasmon resonance; swift heavy ions; Introduction Metal nanoparticles embedded in dielectric matrices in the form of nanocomposites have gained

Liquid fuel cells

• Grigorii L. Soloveichik

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1399–1418, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.153

• replace traditional carbon support, e.g., Vulcan XC-72. The addition of more corrosion-resistant ZrC to XC-72 carbon (1:1) provided a narrower particle size distribution and a better dispersion on the surface and resulted in a higher activity during formic acid oxidation [138]. Nanocomposite-based on Pd

An insight into the mechanism of charge-transfer of hybrid polymer:ternary/quaternary chalcopyrite colloidal nanocrystals

• Parul Chawla,
• Son Singh and
• Shailesh Narain Sharma

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1235–1244, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.137

• conjunction with the conjugated polymers are characterized by the capability to act as effective electron acceptors. Furthermore, they have the unique ability to achieve an enhanced performance, so that they are also beneficial for nanocomposite-based solar cells [8][9]. There are several advantages of using

• mainly attributed to the inability of the nanocrystals to uniformly cling to the polymer matrix so that each of the nanocrystals contributes to a reduction in the PL intensity of the polymer. Additionally, a slight phase segregation may occur in the polymer-nanocomposite of P3HT-chalcogenides, which

• × 103 M−1, 1.1 × 103 M−1 and 1.3 × 103 M−1, respectively. It can be inferred from these values that the P3HT:CZTSe nanocomposites show the highest rate of quenching compared to the hybrids of CISe and CIGSe. KSV value for the P3HT:CIGSe polymer nanocomposite precedes the KSV value of P3HT:CZTSe

Nanoporous composites prepared by a combination of SBA-15 with Mg–Al mixed oxides. Water vapor sorption properties

• Amaury Pérez-Verdejo,
• Alvaro Sampieri,
• Heriberto Pfeiffer,
• Mayra Ruiz-Reyes,
• Juana-Deisy Santamaría and
• Geolar Fetter

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1226–1234, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.136

• ]. However, the design of nanocomposite materials is usually a challenging task, as it is often necessary to employ several steps with complex preparation methods. For instance, composite materials can be prepared by a combination of inorganic with organic moieties or hybrid materials, to obtain a

Growth and characterization of CNT–TiO₂ heterostructures

• Yucheng Zhang,
• Ivo Utke,
• Johann Michler,
• Gabriele Ilari,
• Marta D. Rossell and
• Rolf Erni

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 946–955, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.108

• -effectively and environmentally friendly, is a good candidate for electrochemical photocatalysis [6], recent research shows that its limited absorption of only the UV part of the sunlight spectrum can be extended to visible light when forming a nanocomposite with CNTs [7][8][9]. This can significantly

Preparation of poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone)-stabilized ZnO colloid nanoparticles

• Tatyana Gutul,
• Emil Rusu,
• Nadejda Condur,
• Veaceslav Ursaki,
• Evgenii Goncearenco and
• Paulina Vlazan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 402–406, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.47

• from the most intense PL band at 356 nm coming from the PVP, exhibits a strong PL band at 376 nm (3.30 eV) which corresponds to the emission of the free exciton recombination in ZnO nanoparticles. Keywords: colloidal solutions; nanocomposite; poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone); sol–gel; zinc oxide

• of poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) as a stabilizer in the synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles by an ultrasound-assisted sol–gel method allowed for the obtainment of stable colloidal solutions with good luminescence properties. The solid product consist of nanocomposite-encapsulated nanoparticles with sizes of 30

Preparation of NiS/ZnIn₂S₄ as a superior photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution under visible light irradiation

• Liang Wei,
• Yongjuan Chen,
• Jialin Zhao and
• Zhaohui Li

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 949–955, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.107

• step hydrothermal processes is beneficial for the directional migration of the photo-excited electrons from ZnIn2S4 to NiS. The highest photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate (104.7 μmol/h), which is even higher than that over Pt/ZnIn2S4 nanocomposite (77.8 μmol/h), was observed over an optimum NiS

• were observed in the XRD patterns, the existence of NiS in the nanocomposite is confirmed by the HRTEM image (Figure 2c). Clear lattice fringes of 0.32 nm and 0.29 nm, which can be ascribed to the (102) plane of hexagonal ZnIn2S4 and the (300) plane of rhombohedral NiS respectively, can be observed. As

• nanocomposite and is compared with that of pure ZnIn2S4 and NiS. Although NiS is a good electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution [36], no hydrogen was evolved when NiS alone was used as the photocatalyst. Pure ZnIn2S4 only had a very low activity with the hydrogen evolution at a rate of 14.1 μmol/h. However, the

Controlled synthesis and tunable properties of ultrathin silica nanotubes through spontaneous polycondensation on polyamine fibrils

• Jian-Jun Yuan,
• Pei-Xin Zhu,
• Daisuke Noda and
• Ren-Hua Jin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 793–804, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.90

• polymers and subsequent carbonization. Keywords: biomimetic silicification; polyethyleneimine; silica–carbon nanocomposite; silica nanotubes; template synthesis; Introduction Silica nanotubes with a controlled nanostructure (i.e., wall thickness and hollow space) and a tunable chemical composition are

Influence of particle size and fluorination ratio of CF_x precursor compounds on the electrochemical performance of C–FeF₂ nanocomposites for reversible lithium storage

• Ben Breitung,
• M. Anji Reddy,
• Venkata Sai Kiran Chakravadhanula,
• Michael Engel,
• Christian Kübel,
• Annie K. Powell,
• Horst Hahn and
• Maximilian Fichtner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 705–713, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.80

• mAh/g) reached the highest value compared to the other materials. Variation of carbon content In order to investigate the influence of the carbon content on the electrochemical performance of the nanocomposite, different graphite fluorides (CF0.5, CF0.7, CF1.0 and CF1.1) were used as precursors. The

• material and carbon in each nanocomposite is presented in Table 1. The X-ray diffraction patterns of the nanocomposites are shown in Figure 2a. All nanocomposites show diffraction peaks that correspond to the FeF2 rutile structure. However, differences between the patterns can be noticed in the region

A facile synthesis of a carbon-encapsulated Fe₃O₄ nanocomposite and its performance as anode in lithium-ion batteries

• Raju Prakash,
• Katharina Fanselau,
• Shuhua Ren,
• Tapan Kumar Mandal,
• Christian Kübel,
• Horst Hahn and
• Maximilian Fichtner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 699–704, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.79

• -von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, Karlsruhe, 76344, Germany Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU), Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, Ulm, 89081, Germany 10.3762/bjnano.4.79 Abstract A carbon-encapsulated Fe3O4 nanocomposite was prepared by a simple one-step pyrolysis of iron pentacarbonyl without using any templates, solvents

• or surfactants. The structure and morphology of the nanocomposite was investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis and Raman spectroscopy. Fe3O4 nanoparticles are dispersed intimately in a carbon framework. The

• nanocomposite exhibits well constructed core–shell and nanotube structures, with Fe3O4 cores and graphitic shells/tubes. The as-synthesized material could be used directly as anode in a lithium-ion cell and demonstrated a stable capacity, and good cyclic and rate performances. Keywords: electrochemistry; iron

Functionalization of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes

• Eloise Van Hooijdonk,
• Carla Bittencourt,
• Rony Snyders and
• Jean-François Colomer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 129–152, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.14

• tensile strength [9] and elastic modulus [10], CNTs form the strongest and stiffest material that humans have created. These properties offer a wide range of potential applications [11][12], for electronic devices, energy storage and transport, nanocomposite materials, and nanomedicine. The as-synthesized

Plasmonics-based detection of H₂ and CO: discrimination between reducing gases facilitated by material control

• Gnanaprakash Dharmalingam,
• Nicholas A. Joy,
• Benjamin Grisafe and
• Michael A. Carpenter

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 712–721, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.81

• -temperature-combustion applications is very important for regulating the discharge of gases such as NO2 and CO as well as unburnt fuel into the environment. This work reports the detection of H2 and CO gases by employing a metal–metal oxide nanocomposite (gold–yttria stabilized zirconia (Au–YSZ)) film

• nanocomposite results in a vivid change in the response to H2 and CO gases, and also an apparent desensitization to NO2. The morphological switching mentioned here results from a change in the sample fabrication method from a co-sputtered Au–YSZ film, in which the Au particles are embedded in the YSZ matrix, to

• a layer-by-layer process for nanocomposite preparation. PCA analysis was employed to illustrate the difference in response between H2 and CO for the co-sputtered and small-particle sample. These composites could serve as potential sensing materials in a sensor array for selective detection of H2, CO

Focused electron beam induced deposition: A perspective

• Michael Huth,
• Fabrizio Porrati,
• Christian Schwalb,
• Marcel Winhold,
• Roland Sachser,
• Maja Dukic,
• Jonathan Adams and
• Georg Fantner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 597–619, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.70

• microstructure of materials obtained by FEBID falls into the three categories amorphous, nanogranular or nanocomposite and polycrystalline. Depending on the microstructure the physical properties vary substantially, e.g., with regard to electrical transport, magnetism or the mechanical strength. Since the local

Spontaneous dissociation of Co₂(CO)₈ and autocatalytic growth of Co on SiO₂: A combined experimental and theoretical investigation

• Kaliappan Muthukumar,
• Harald O. Jeschke,
• Roser Valentí,
• Evgeniya Begun,
• Johannes Schwenk,
• Fabrizio Porrati and
• Michael Huth

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 546–555, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.63

• the nanocomposites. The so-formed sub-carbonyl motifs during the FEBID process may be the true precursor for the Co-rich nanocomposite formation. (a) Optical micrograph of the Co dissociation product on the plasma-activated silica surface. The deposit mimics the flux profile set by the gas injection

Mechanical characterization of carbon nanomembranes from self-assembled monolayers

• Xianghui Zhang,
• André Beyer and
• Armin Gölzhäuser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 826–833, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.92

• mechanical stability than BPT CNMs do, which may be caused by a higher molecular packing density in NBPT CNMs. Compared to other nanomembranes, such as IPN nanocomposite with organic–inorganic networks, which exhibit a tensile strength of 105 MPa [5], the ultimate tensile strength of CNMs is 5–6 times higher

Highly efficient ZnO/Au Schottky barrier dye-sensitized solar cells: Role of gold nanoparticles on the charge-transfer process

• Tanujjal Bora,
• Htet H. Kyaw,
• Soumik Sarkar,
• Samir K. Pal and
• Joydeep Dutta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 681–690, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.73

• -photon-count (TCSPC) spectroscopy technique was used to explore the charge-transfer mechanism in the ZnO/Au-nanocomposite DSSC. Due to the formation of the Schottky barrier at the ZnO/Au interface and the higher optical absorptions of the ZnO/Au photoelectrodes arising from the surface plasmon absorption

• of the Au nanoparticles, enhanced power-conversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.49% for small-area (0.1 cm2) ZnO/Au-nanocomposite DSSC was achieved compared to the 5.34% efficiency of the bare ZnO nanorod DSSC. The TCSPC studies revealed similar dynamics for the charge transfer from dye molecules to ZnO

• , we explore the charge-transfer process in a ZnO/Au-nanocomposite photoelectrode for DSSC application. From the spectroscopic studies, we demonstrate that the enhancement in DSSC performance in the presence of Au nanoparticles with the ZnO nanorods is primarily due to the formation of a Schottky

Single-pass Kelvin force microscopy and dC/dZ measurements in the intermittent contact: applications to polymer materials

• Sergei Magonov and
• John Alexander

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 15–27, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.2

• with dielectric spectroscopy [18], were studied with AFM probe at a single location. Furthermore, these studies were extended to dC/dZ mapping of a PVAC/PS blend at different temperatures in UHV [19] and to studies of a PVAC-based nanocomposite material [20]. We initiated KFM and dC/dZ measurements of

Fabrication and spectroscopic studies on highly luminescent CdSe/CdS nanorod polymer composites

• Jana Bomm,
• Andreas Büchtemann,
• Angela Fiore,
• Liberato Manna,
• James H. Nelson,
• Diana Hill and
• Wilfried G. J. H. M. van Sark

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2010, 1, 94–100, doi:10.3762/bjnano.1.11

• 12 nm in length (aspect ratio 3). P(LMA-co-EGDM) nanocomposites Clear nanocomposite plates without bubbles and smooth surfaces with sizes up to 8 × 8 × 0.5 cm3 were obtained (Figure 4c, Figure 5c). TEM measurements were performed on thin cryo-cut nanocomposite slices (770 × 540 × 60 nm3). The TEM

• image of a P(LMA-co-EGDM) nanocomposite slice containing 0.05 wt % aspect ratio 6 NRs is shown in Figure 4b: clearly, single NRs are homogeneously dispersed within the polymer matrix. We have counted a total number of 116 nanorods in 5 TEM images from different nanocomposite slices, which implies a NR

• concentration of ~1.5 µM. Figure 5b shows a TEM image of a nanocomposite containing 0.05 wt % NRs with an aspect ratio of 3. From a total number of 99 single distributed nanorods in 6 nanocomposite slices we deduce a NR concentration of ~1.1 µM within the P(LMA-co-EGDM) matrix. Thus, molar concentrations for